Teaching, Learning, & Professional Development Center

Tips for presenting a poster - Anna L. Smith

Before

Print out copies of your paper and have them ready to hand out at request, or bring
a sign-up sheet for people interested in more information.

Some people might give you a business card for further contact. Bring an envelope
to keep them all together and contained.

Be sure you know how you'll be hanging the poster, and if the conference will be providing
the material or if you need to bring pushpins or Velcro yourself.

Make sure you have a way to transport and protect your poster. A 42" poster tube will
hold most posters you will ever need to transport. Either write or attach your contact
information to the poster tube in some way in case it gets misplaced.

If you are traveling by plane to your conference, it is a better idea to take your
poster as a carry-on rather than checking it with your luggage. Airlines can often
lose checked poster tubes since they roll around easily.

Alternatively, you can mail the poster to the hotel, or to someone you know who will
be attending the conference who lives in or near that city. Mailing posters comes
with its own set of risks, however.

Practice talking through your poster. Have a colleague act as one of the conference
attendees and discuss your research with them to get a feel for what you need to say.
Make sure they ask different questions about your research as well. The more times
you repeat this with other people, the better.

During

Wear comfortable shoes. You'll be standing for a while.

Consider bringing a water bottle, since you'll be doing a lot of talking.

Stay near your poster, even if there aren't a lot of viewers around. You never know
when someone might show up.

Smile at people when they pass by. They could be walking through to see which posters
they'd like to come back to.

Greet viewers, but do give them time to look at your poster. If they look like they
have questions, comments, or are finished looking, that's when to start discussing
your research.

Be aware of everyone looking at your poster. Don't be too focused on speaking to one
person that you ignore someone else who might want to discuss your research.

If you find that viewers are asking some of the same questions during or after your
discussion, start slipping that information into the discussion with later viewers
before they need to ask.

If someone is especially interested in your research, offer them a copy of your paper
or ask if they would like to be included on your sign-up sheet, but don't force it
on them. If they do ask to be included on your sign-up sheet, after they're gone,
put down a word or two next to their name or on their business card if they seemed
interested in a specific area of your research.

Don't take criticism too hard. Oral and poster presentations are often used to receive
critique before publishing. Many of the scholars attending the conference are there
to help you grow professionally and academically.

Admitting you don't know something is alright. Use that as an opportunity for further
discussion or research about your topic.

Talking viewers through your poster:

There are a few different ways of actually presenting your poster to a viewer. One
way is to let the viewer read your poster, then start a discussion based their questions
or comments. If they don't seem to have any comments to really start a discussion
with, you can further elaborate on your conclusions or talk about the hardest or most
interesting part of your research. This approach is good for people who would rather
have a conversation than give a presentation.

Another method of poster presentation is having a prepared script of what you would
like to say and walk the viewers through your poster. This approach might not work
as well with viewers who have read the poster prior to meeting with you. While walking
through your research, you can draw attention to specific areas. Often, the viewer
may ask a question while you are presenting. Don't be afraid to let the discussion
move away from your script. You need to be sure to know your script well enough to
handle these sorts of interruptions. Be sure to not let your speech sound like a practiced
speech. Keep the tone conversational. If you have more than a few people viewing your
poster at one time, consider this approach.

When viewers come up to your poster, you can always greet them, then ask, “Would you
like to read the poster, or have me walk you through it?” This offers you the opportunity
to meet the viewer's expectations and preferences.